OMG Unexpected chick in incubator Please help NOW???

[L0rraine]

Help! I do broodies NOT incubated chicks. But purchased a little giant a few months ago when I had an emergency. Needless to say nothing hatched. Twice since I given questionable eggs a shot - nothing ever came of it. Until now -- my bantam cochin abandoned three Silkie eggs (actually five, but I dropped two

). Anyway, once again I turned on the incubator and stuck them in NOT REALLY SERIOUS ABOUT THIS! First few hours only got temp up to about 97 degrees. Shifted knob slightly -- two hours later temp was close to 105

-- shifted knob down -- two hours later temp was about 100 -- I just left it (AND NEVER LOOKED BACK). They are in my husbands study and I just kind of forgot about them thinking if they hadn't died already I had definitely killed them. I'm in the bath tonight after desperately trying to find away to cover one of my duck runs to protect from the eagles and my husband pops his head in the door and says HEY! you've got a duckling next door. I was TOTALLY confused. "In the incubator -- in my study". GEEZ! It's alive?!! Yeah it's just coming out of the shell. OMG!!!! "A duckling" my husband says - what does he know? It's a chick.

WHAT NOW?!! Do I take it out and put it under a heat lamp in 1/2 hour? REALLY! I NEED HELP GUYS!

Geez, it's peeping away down there - I'm afraid I'm going to kill it.

PLEEZ, somebody respond this time.

 

[19Dawn76]

i leave ;mine in the bator until they dry then they will need a brooder.

 

[HennyJenny]

If you've still got another egg in there you may as well let that chick sit in there until tomorrow or Sunday and see if the other egg hatches! Congratulations!

 

[debilorrah]

You make me smile! Leave it there until it is dry, and if you have any other pips, don't open the bator. The chick can survive off the yolk sac for 72 hours. It's fine.

 

[L0rraine]

Two more eggs, but I'm not seeing any pipping or zipping. I hate to jeopardize this little guy waiting, so will wait until he dries and, in the meantime, try to prepare something. I thought it was a little hot (it was close to 101 so turned it down a TINY bit.

The first chicks I ever had were given to me in a bird cage with a heat lamp. Should I use that and wrap cardboard around part of it to keep the heat in one end. The chicks that came in it were a week old, so heat was less of an issue (and there were six siblings).

THANKS for the quick replies!!!! I have three day old porcelain d'uccles under one of my Silkie hens so could probably sneak this one in, in a day or so if it's healthy (making sure it doesn't get picked on).

 

[debilorrah]

When you do take it out, if it is alone, make sure you have a small stuffed animal and a little mirror to prop up. It will scream its head off if it thinks it is alone.

ETA: Oh the three days old are fine to put it with!!!